Same Ground
by Ms. Haps Happen
Summary: She wonders if he notices, he hopes that she cares. She's struggling what to say, he's trying to make her day. She was in love, and so was he; but both couldn't see. Will they finally understand and heed the call, or are they doomed to just be friends after all?


**This takes place sometime before the events at Tenrou Island. Kinda AUish. **

**There's not much fanfiction about these two, so I figured, 'Why not make one?' They deserve as much love as NaLu, Gruvia, GaLe and Jerza. They're ALREADY canon. But, I still love those four pairings. Kyaaaa!**

**So, here goes..**

**Disclaimer: Wish they were mine. :(**

* * *

"All right, we're done here," exclaimed a black-haired man as he was tying the last of the thugs, that they were sent to subdue and apprehend, to the pole. He secured the knots, tying them as tightly as he can manage to ascertain that no one would escape. When he was finally satisfied, he straightened up and let out a tired sigh.

This man is Alzack Connel. He was dressed in a bright brown poncho – his clothes are similar to those of a cowboy straight out of a Western movie. Around his waist was a holster supporting two guns, one at each side of his hip. A pair of black cowboy boots adorned his feet.

A tanned hand reached up to wipe off the sweat on his forehead, jet-black hair brushing off in the process but promptly fell back in place once the deed was done covering most of his facial features.

He let out a yawn. Black eyes swept once more unto the captured mages below him before landing on the back of his companion; long, straight green hair swishing with wind.

"Hey," he called. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, sure," she answered before turning to face him, rifle in one hand, resting comfortably on her shoulder. "But first, we need to hand them in. Who knows what troubles they'd make if we let them loose. We wouldn't want that to happen, would we?"

Alzack nodded as he proceeded to cut the pole in half. He intended to use it to drag their captures with. He made sure that the ropes will still hold by trying the knots and when he failed to untie it, he turned to say something only to find himself staring into her eyes.

Bisca Moulin is a very beautiful woman, Alzack knew that much. She has a slim figure that would make any man swoon. Her strapless dress, which ended just above her knees, clung to her curves perfectly. Her waist-length, bright green hair swayed with the wind despite the fact that she has her cowgirl hat on, making her more majestic to him. Those red plump lips, currently adorned in a small smile, made him want to kiss her senseless. But what he loved most about her was her eyes. Those eyes – those violet orbs – which he always, _always_ got lost into.

He just contemplated how truly beautiful her eyes were before his own widen in realization and hurriedly averted his gaze, blushing.

"Let's go, Bisca."

Said girl just stood frozen, eyes wide and mouth agape. A whirlwind of thoughts were rushing through her mind. Her heart pounding on her chest, she felt heat rising on her face. She blinked several times and shook her head, as if brushing the thoughts away. She inhaled deeply before speaking.

"Lead the way, Alzack."

* * *

The walk back to town was uneventful save for a little squabble caused by the fugitives in hopes of escaping. A few of them tried to do magic but was disappointed when they couldn't as their hands were tied with a magic-inhibiting rope. Instead, they settled on verbally assaulting the two mages but quickly tired of it when it became apparent that they weren't listening.

The group trekked their way out of the rumble of debris and unto open air. Alzack was upfront, holding the pole in one hand, making occasional tugs causing the captured mages to stumble a bit, leading the way back and was glancing every now and then at the back of the line were Bisca was, guarding the rear end.

After half an hour of walking – and stumbling for the captured mages – they reached the town square of Omnibus Town where they were greeted with loud cheers and catcalls from the townspeople. Shouts of "They've caught them!" and "We're saved!" could be heard as the group was surrounded by the townspeople. The two just smiled in response to the jubilant cries of the crowd while the fugitives sneered at anyone who dared come near them.

A sudden cry of "The Mayor!" made the townspeople, if possible, cheer more loudly. The crowd parted to reveal a tiny old man in a crisp white business attire. His silvery-white hair was long and kept in a single ponytail. He wore a warm smile and his watery blue eyes twinkled as he approached the two mages at the center.

"Ah, so you've caught them." It was a statement to which the two nodded.

"They've been a handful, those mages. Wreaking havoc and mayhem when we least expect it. The townspeople are becoming quite jumpy, always on the look-out for their next attack. Many businesses have closed down and our supplies are running low. We're lucky that someone responded immediately, and from a top guild, eh? What guild are you from again?"

The sudden question caught Alzack and Bisca, who were spacing out the last few minutes, by surprise. Alzack coughed to hide his embarrassment and chose to answer.

"We're from - "

Apparently, the mayor haven't noticed and rattled on.

"I hope not from Fairy Tail. Those guys can obliterate a whole town!"

At this, Alzack and Bisca exchanged glances and was about to answer when they were cut, again.

"Of course, they're great and all that but you can't just know what to expect with them," the mayor tutted and goes about their recent encounter with a certain pink-haired fire dragonslayer and his team.

Bisca just sighed. Not knowing whether to tell the man in front of them that, indeed, they are mages of Fairy Tail and risk getting the full amount of their prize, or just tell him anyway and hope that he'd take pity on them and give them the whole lot.

She sighed again. Both ideas are practically the same.

" - and they blasted up half of the port! Can you imagine that? It took about three months and a whole lot of money to get it reconstructed. Almost every man in this town helped and it took that long."

Every male present in the crowd nodded. Some murmuring about hard work and body aches.

"We almost did not give them their reward, you know? With all the damage done, we ought to be given free service!" the mayor exclaimed and the crowd cheered – and goes on with the story.

Fairy Tail may be a rambunctious guild and may have a destructive reputation, but they're also known for their strong belief in the bonds of friendship and their sheer loyalty to the guild and to everyone within. And that's more than enough to be a proud member of Fairy Tail because no matter what, they are family and family stick together.

Bisca smiled at the thought.

A sudden warmth on her shoulder made Bisca jolt back to reality. She faced Alzack, eyes asking. Alzack just looked straight ahead, a light tint of redness on his face. Wondering why, Bisca turned and was surprised at the intentness of the mayor's gaze on her, which was smeared over with a glint of mischievousness matched by the wide smile plastered on his face.

"Oh, sorry. What was that?"

The mayor merely chuckled and repeated his previous statement.

"I was just asking if you two are, you know, _together_. The man said no, but I wanted to hear from you. You seem close with each other and you look good together."

For the second time that day, Bisca felt her face on fire.

"Ah, no, no. We're not together. We're a team and just friends," she sputtered.

"In denial, I see." Their blush deepened.

"Ah, young love! I remember the days when I was young and so much in love. I would always send love letters and poems to my beloved and when night falls, we would meet up by our secret place to watch the stars..."

At this point, neither Alzack nor Bisca could look each other in the eye. Both were too busy brushing off their rapidly growing blush.

"Well, there's no need to dwell on something that isn't there. We'll be having a feast later in celebration of the town's freedom from their," the mayor subtly pointed at the now bored-looking tied-up mages, having their presence long been forgotten during the mayor's storytelling, "exploits. You two are our guests of honor, of course. I'll let someone lead you to the town hall to rest a bit. You can stay the night over, too. You're more than welcome here."

"There's no need. We'll just make sure they," Alzack pulled on the rope, breaking whatever activity they were doing, or trying to do, "are properly detained, collect our money and get going. We've been away for too long. Our friends at home might be worried sick 'cause we're supposed to be back two days ago."

"Yes. Besides, your gratitude is more than enough for us," Bisca added.

The mayor seemed skeptical.

_In a hurry to spend time together, I suppose, _he thought.

* * *

About an hour later found Alzack and Bisca facing each other aboard a train to Magnolia City. It took a lot of convincing to make the mayor believe that they really were in a hurry and a lot more to stop him from hinting that they're actually dating; escort the fugitives to jail, collect their money and bid farewell.

"I never thought convincing someone of something was a lot of work than they put it. It was more tedious than chasing those guys for a week. Nah, their mayor sure is stubborn. Maybe it's a good thing that he can't be easily swayed. Don't you think so, Al?"

"Yeah, maybe," he answered nonchalantly.

Bisca looked at him. Alzack was slumped at his chair, his head downcast and his hair covering his face. He looked up when he felt the intent gaze of his partner on him.

"What?"

She noticed the light touch of pink across his face and the tired look on his eyes.

"Are you feeling alright? You seemed a bit off. We should have stayed and rest," she stated. Eyes brimming with concern roved over his tired form. She leaned in a bit closer and placed a hand on his forehead, which made the tinge on his face intensify.

"You look feverish, too. Why don't you rest a bit, hmm? I'll wake you up when we get there."

"What about you?"

"I'm fine. You've done so much fighting those mages and trying to protect me at the same time, when you perfectly know that I can hold my own," she added playfully.

Bisca got up and sat next to him. She pulled his arm until his head hit her lap. Alzack tried to get up but was forced down by her hands on his shoulders.

"Now rest before I get mad at you."

Alzack stared at her, his face turning different shades of red. Bisca has forced him to sleep on her lap before, but he'll never get used to it. Each time brought his heart to flutter and his face redden that it was in danger of becoming permanent.

A gentle stroke on his hair made the gun mage let out a huge yawn. Bisca chuckled above him and continued to stroke his hair. Half a minute later, Alzack has completely succumbed to the lure of sleep. Bisca smiled at the sleeping image of her partner.

"He really is tired," she mused.

She looked out the window, watching as scenes rolled after another as she continues stroking Alzack's hair. She stayed silent for a few minutes watching the scenes before her as memories of the week's event flashed through her mind's eye.

* * *

_It was quite a normal day at the guild – eerily normal, really. What with two of the most notorious troublemakers off to a mission, the guild fell to a kind of normalcy that didn't bode with anyone – it felt like something big is missing._

_It was that kind of atmosphere that can be felt at the guild that day. Bisca was sitting on a stool at the counter sipping a glass of tea when Alzack slipped on a seat beside her._

"_This peacefulness's getting on me. Sure, it's quite good at the beginning, but it's getting boring. I'll never get used to a guild without Natsu and Gray with their usual banter which always inadvertently initiates a guild brawl, Lucy shouting at them to quit it while hiding behind the bar with Levy and the Exceeds, and Erza sitting on a corner oblivious of her surroundings whilst savoring her strawberry cake. Yep, it definitely is boring," he quipped._

_Bisca turned to look at him, her face contorted in confusion._

"_What are you getting at, Al? You know that you can tell me anything, don't you? If it's a mission, then I'm all for it. Besides, I've got nothing to do," she smiled._

_Alzack scratched the back of his head sheepishly._

"_Yes, it is. I found something that's good for us to do. Something about catching mages that were harassing a town. It's a good pay, too. The town's not far from here, we can finish the job within three days time. How about we meet tomorrow at seven o'clock on the train station?"_

_Bisca just smiled and nodded. They then proceeded to leave the guild, discussing strategies on how to catch the elusive mages, not noticing a pair of blue eyes, from a certain white-haired beauty, staring at their retreating forms, a smile on her lips._

"_If only they knew…" she sighed._

* * *

_They were on a deserted area not far from Omnibus Town, hiding behind boulders, waiting for an opportune time to sneak upon their targets without them noticing. They've been watching them for half a day now with no avail. Tracking their hideout was tricky, as they were always changing places, and took them a day and a half before they finally located them in a small cave down the other side of the mountain, behind the waterfalls._

_The Fairy Tail mages could have found their hideout earlier if not for the simple fact that the mayor of the town who sent the request was a tattle-tale and took him the whole day to bore Alzack and Bisca out of their wits of his talk about their town and whatnots. He then insisted that they stay for the night before they embark on their mission, which they politely accepted. Now, they're resentful that they haven't begun their mission right after they arrived, but what's done is done and there's nothing one can do about it. All they need to do was concentrate and wait patiently._

_They were positioned at either sides of the opening of the cave. Both at the ready and are fully aware that once their little trick was discovered, they'd attack at once. The enemies were a lot stronger than they envisioned. They hope that they'd be able to push through; pray that both would be safe._

* * *

_They were walking back to town with the captured mages on tow. Alzack was holding the pole where the enemies were tied to with a rope, tugging while Bisca was trailing behind. She refused to walk with him, saying that she was to guard the rear end and have the chance to gather her thoughts._

_What transpired between them earlier brought her heart to pitter-patter and her face to turn red. Even the thought of those black orbs staring down her own made the butterflies in her stomach run wild._

"_If only I have the courage to tell him," she sighed._

_Unbeknownst to her, the object of her affections was thinking the same thing._

* * *

'_Does he have to say that?' Bisca mused._

_It's hard enough that she's struggling with her feelings for a while now, but to hear it out loud? It made her heart shatter to pieces._

_She knew they were just friends but admitting that was too much. She knew it would hurt her but not to this intensity. Are they destined to only be friends?_

'_I hope not,' she wished._

* * *

Remembering that incident was quite painful, she noted.

The sun's almost gone but they're still halfway home. It will take about an hour more to reach Magnolia Station and fifteen minutes to reach their guild.

Bisca tore her eyes from the window and looked at the sleeping mage on her lap. Alzack looked so serene, so peaceful, and so breathtakingly handsome. She brushed the hair out of his face and sighed.

"I don't know why I love you," she whispered to the still sleeping man. "But, I do. I really do."

"It's hard," Bisca looked out the window as a single tear ran down her cheek, "knowing that we'll only be friends. Maybe, if I told you how I feel, things would change, huh? I don't know. I don't have the courage to tell you. And, I'm afraid of rejection, scared of you rejecting me. Scared of what would happen to our friendship if that happened. I don't want us to end, Al. I don't want us to fall apart. I guess, I'll make do of what we have now."

"Silly me," she smiled and wiped the tears from her eyes, "talking to a sleeping person and confessing. I'm that desperate, huh?" She laughed whilst tears ran down her cheeks in quick succession.

"Bisca…"

She abruptly stopped laughing and turned to see Alzack, who she didn't realize was awake and had sat up some time ago, looking at her intently. His gaze boring into her very soul. Like his dying to let her know, to let her understand how deeply he feels for her, then she realized.

"Bisca," Alzack repeated, voice soft and soothing, eyes ablaze with love - for her.

She fell into his arms and cried, not of sadness, but of joy and relief. They were the same all along. Both were just too terrified of rejection that neither of them made a move.

They were trapped on the same ground for too long, but now, they're starting on new grounds – a new path – together.

* * *

**So, how was it? Was it up to standard? Hope you like it! Feel free to criticize.**

**edited 7/21/13: Too. Many. Typos. Ugh, I'm gonna die. That was embarrassing. I'll never, _ever_ upload again a few hours before my class starts. Never again.**


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